Broken Arrows
by geekyfangirl17
Summary: What happens when the light that could brighten even Oliver Queen's darkest days is snuffed out like a candle in the wind? Will the newfound darkness take root and grow stronger, or can the light be rekindled?
1. Snitch

A/N

Here's a new idea that I've been toying around with in my head. Beware of angst galore! Drop a comment if you enjoyed and feel free to leave a like if you want. Love you guys!

The familiar sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the spacious rooms of the Queen's Mansion. Oliver lowered the vodka filled glass from his lips as a look of confusion spread across his face. It was three in the morning. Who the hell was visiting him at this hour?

Raising the glass once more to his lips, he took a swig finishing off the remainder of the drink. That had been his fourth glass that night. He didn't care. Not anymore. Groggily, he rolled the glass out of his hand and onto the table. He stumbled forward towards the parlor. A shattering sound rang behind him as he used the wall for support.

The doorbell rang again as he reached the table in the parlor. "I'mcoming!" He incoherently shouted as his words slurred together. Losing his footing, he began falling towards the ground. Luckily, he was able to catch himself on the table. He tried pulling himself up, but the table tipped over causing him to fall flat on his back. The vase of flowers slid down the fallen table and onto his stomach as water seeped through his clothes. A few sheets of papers floated down towards him.

Sighing, Oliver worked his way back into a standing position. He made it to the door and fumbled with the handle. "Dammit," he mumbled under his breath as he finally unlocked the door. He drew back the door expecting Diggle. Instead, someone only his sick imagination could have conjured up awaited on the other side.

"Oliver?" It was barely a whisper.

"You... It's been almost a month..."

"Ol..." Coughs shook her body.

"Is that really you?" He asked unsure. Her head barely moved up and down indicating a yes.

Sitting tied to a chair in front of his doorway was the woman he had been searching for the past month. She was wearing only her undergarments, with tight ropes around her wrists and ankles. Her once blonde hair was now a reddish brown from what could only be blood. Across her bare stomach, the word SNITCH had been etched into her skin with something sharp. Bruises of various colors could be found all over her body.

"Oh my God..." he trailed off as he took in the horror that was before him. Without wasting another second, Oliver grabbed Felicity's chair and lifted it up. He stumbled as all the alcohol he had drank earlier that evening caught up to his motor skills. Still, he pressed onward. He brought her into the kitchen. Setting the chair down, he grabbed a knife out of the drawer. He used the sharp blades to slice through the ropes. Her wrists and ankles were raw.

"I need to get you to a hospital," he said throwing the last bit of rope on the ground.

"No," she whispered weakly.

"Felicity, you need medical attention," he insisted.

"No," she snarled. Her hand flew out and grabbed his wrist. He looked up at her in shock. A tired, pleading gaze met his worried one. He stared at her for a minute weighing his options. She really didn't want him to take her to the hospital.

Letting out a sigh, Oliver looked down towards the ground in defeat. "Let's get you cleaned up then, okay?" He felt the grip on his wrist lessen as she nodded.

Gently, Oliver placed one arm around her back, and the other arm underneath her legs. Slowly, he eased her out of the chair and into his arms. He could tell she was trying to be brave, but he heard her wince in pain as he lifted. He also felt the tight, squeezing grip of her hand on his arm as she channeled the pain from her body elsewhere.

Carefully, he carried her frail body towards the bathroom. He used the walls as a possibility of support just in case the vodka caught back up with him. Thankfully, he had seemed to snap out of his groggy state.

He made it into the bathroom and headed towards the shower. He cautiously set Felicity down on the closed toilet seat. Making sure she wasn't going to fall over, he started the water. When it reached a comfortable temperature, he began filling up the tub. He grabbed a few wash cloths out of the cabinet as the tub filled up.

"Let's get you washed up. You ready?" He asked once the tub had filled up about half way. She nodded looking like she was bracing herself for pain. Cautiously, he lifted her once again and placed her along with her undergarments in the warm water. He wasn't going to ask her to take off those. Who knows what she had been through. He heard her suck in a sharp breath as her skin made contact with the water.

"You okay?" Oliver asked with concern heavy in his voice.

"Yes," she whispered. Oliver noticed her hand had curled into a fist.

"Take a second. I won't do anything until you are ready." He reached his hand out to hers for reassurance. As soon as his skin made contact with hers, she quickly drew back her hand and wrapped it around her leg.

 _What did they do to her?_ He wondered as he drew his hand back to his side. She was sensitive right now and he was not going to pester her with questions.

"Okay," she muttered barely audible.

"Okay. Just stop me if you need to." He grabbed one of the washcloths he had gathered earlier and dampened it in the water. Gently, he began washing off the blood and dirt off her skin. She winced every now and then, but she didn't ask him to stop.

After about ten minutes, he had finished cleaning her skin. Green and black bruises still covered her body. He noticed a few burn marks along her back as well. The marks looked as if she was branded like cattle. Sadly, he couldn't wash those down the drain. Next was her hair. He grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squirted a handful of the liquid out into his hand. Softly, he began working the shampoo into her rusty smelling hair. Oliver watched as the reddish-brown color dripped down his hands mixed with white, soapy bubbles.

After lathering all that he could, he grabbed the faucet head and turned it on the lowest pressure setting. Testing the water on his hand, he deemed it fit for Felicity's sensitive skin. The tub turned into a bloodbath as the caked-on blood came flowing out of her hair. He repeated the procedure with the conditioner.

He finished rinsing the last bit of conditioner out of her hair and turned off the water. He released the drain, letting the warm water slowly recede around her. He snatched a towel off the rack and rested it on her back. The towel draped over her shoulder in the front.

"I think Thea has some old clothes that should fit you. Would you like me to give you a minute to dry off and I'll run and grab them?" He asked.

"No...I can't... don't leave me alone," she whispered with her voice cracking. A look of terror was on her face as she stared at the wall. Her hands trembled.

"Felicity, hey," Oliver said placing his hand on hers to stop the shaking. He felt her flinch at his touch and her eyes whipped over to him. "You're safe now. Nobody, and I mean nobody is going to lay a finger on you again."

She looked up into his eyes and said nothing. "Felicity it's me. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm tired," she whispered turning her eyes away from his.

"Okay," he sighed not wanting to pressure her. He wished she would open up to him, but he knew from experience that trauma can be hard to talk about. Patience and time would help. "I'm going to pick you up and bring you to the bedroom. I'll get you some clothes in there, okay?"

She nodded. Wrapping the towel around the rest of her body, he lifted her up and carried her to his room. He set her on the edge of his bed and began digging through drawers to find something to let her wear. Finding an oversized shirt along with a pair of sweatpants that he never wore, he handed it to her. He turned his back and gave her some privacy while she changed.

After a minute, he took a quick glance and saw that she had finished. She was sitting on the bed just staring out into the distance. Her head rested on her knees and her arms were wrapped around her legs. She was shivering.

"Here, let's get you warm," he insisted. He pulled back the comforter, lifting her up carefully as he pulled the remainder out. With enough of the bedding out, he covered her up. She laid down, resting her head on the soft pillows.

"Get some sleep, okay? I'm going to be right here the whole time," he promised as he finished tucking her in. Making sure she was settled, he pulled up a chair and sat close to the bed. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Diggle's number.

It went to voicemail after a few rings.

"Diggle, hey... I know what time it is, but I had to call you. She's back Diggle. Felicity is back. Somebody hurt her, and when I find the sick son of a bitch that did this, they're dead."


	2. Nightmares

he was scared to close her eyes. Every time she did, flashes of that sick, sadistic bastard would infiltrate her thoughts. She could see his rotten, yellow smile that she saw every time she would scream out in pain . She could smell his foul breath that loved to breathe down her neck. She could feel his rough, calloused hands that would grip her fragile skin harshly. She could still hear his gruff voice screaming threats at her.

She shifted positions under the warm covers. Feeling warm was a privilege she had missed this last month. She had been stripped down to nothing but her bra and underwear, and left tied to a metal chair in cold room. Occasionally, if her captor found her passed out, he would dump ice cold water on her bare skin. A few times he used a scalding hot branding iron instead.

Feeling comfortable was another feeling she had missed. Sitting in the same chair, day after day, with ropes tied too tightly around your ankles and wrist was painful. Sometimes shifting her position would rub her skin, that was in contact with the ropes, raw enough that she would bleed.

Felicity stared at the wall in front of her with her back to Oliver. Guilt was slowly eating away at her insides. She had reluctantly given into her captors demands yesterday. He knew who her mother was and where she was currently. If she didn't reveal the identity of the Arrow to him, he was going to kill her mother.

She didn't believe him at first, but then he had pulled out a cellphone. He dialed a number on the device and it rang a few times. Finally, someone on the other line picked up. The voice was her mothers. She cooperated after that. She couldn't involve her mother in this. She had to keep her safe.

Felicity's eyes grew heavy. She was exhausted, but she was reluctant to fall asleep. She knew as soon as she fell asleep nightmares would be lurking. Still, in the end, sleep won out. Nightmares did indeed follow.

 _Felicity tossed her keys on the counter as she walked into her house for the first time in twenty-four hours. Between long hours at Queen Consolidated and a busy night with The Arrow, she hadn't had time to stop home. Stopping by the fridge, she grabbed a bite to eat before heading off to the bedroom._

 _She needed to shower and slip into her favorite pair of pajamas. Sleep was calling her name and she was ready to answer the call. Walking into her bedroom, she fell onto the bed for a moment. It was so soft and inviting, but she had to shower first._

 _Sitting up on the bed, she heard a noise in her closet. She sat there for a second trying to process what she had heard. Thousands of horror movie scenarios played in her head. Was it something falling? Was there a mass murder hiding behind door number one?_

 _"I'm armed," she called out lying straight through her teeth. She slowly stood up and crept toward the bedroom door. She had left her phone by her keys on the counter. The bedroom door squeaked loudly as she opened it. Making it through the doorway, she ran towards the phone. Wrapping her fingers around the device, she let out a brief sigh of relief. Now it was time to get out of here. She turned to the doorway but felt something strong jerk her back by her arm._

 _She let out a scream of both surprise and terror as her body fell towards the ground. She heard her phone clatter to the ground just out of reach beside her. Looming over her was a man with a dollar-store devil's mask on. He wore a black sweatshirt with the hood over his head._

 _"Who are you?" She screamed scrambling to my feet. The man did not answer. He just tilted his head and nodded. Why was he nodding? She felt something hard hit the back of her head._

Felicity's _eyes shot open._ She scanned the room for the man in the devil mask. She saw a figure sitting close to her. Her breaths grew more rapid as panic sank in.

"Felicity?" The gruff voice asked.

"How do you know my name?" She demanded. The figure reached over and turned on the lamp. The room was partially illuminated and my surroundings became extremely familiar. Suddenly the past few hours came rushing back.

"Felicity," the man said once more with concern heavily laced in his voice, "it's me Oliver." 

"Oliver?" She asked making sure it was really him. Felicity had been lied to several times over the past months. She couldn't always trust my mind.

"Felicity, you're crying," he said sitting on the bed. His finger reached up and brushed away a tear. She flinched at the contact and pulled back.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Felicity," he whispered as he brought his hand back down to his lap. She sat there in silence, avoiding eye contact with him. Instead she stared down at the white comforter.

"What did they do to you?" He whispered with worry thickly coating his voice.

"Everything," she whispered still looking down.

"I know you aren't ready to talk yet. Just know that you can trust me and that I would never hurt you Felicity," he promised.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Can I get you some water or something?" Oliver asked.

"No," she replied.

"Alright. Just let me know if you change your mind."

"I will," she nodded. She laid back down and felt Oliver tuck her back under the covers. She wasn't tired anymore. She couldn't go back to sleep. Her dream was so realistic. It felt like she was being taken all over again. She didn't feel safe with her captors still out there. They knew where she was. If they needed more information all they had to do was stop in here and take her back.

A/N

Hope you guys are enjoying! Feel free to comment and drop a like if you enjoy! Also, for all those that do celebrate thanksgiving, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'm thankful for all my readers. Your support is everything to me.

As far as what season this takes place in, I'm thinking in between 2 and 3.


	3. Identity

A vibration against Oliver's leg pulled him out of his trance. Felicity lay sleeping on the bed in front of had barely taken his eyes off her throughout the night. It took her awhile to fall back to sleep after she woke up from her nightmare. She had tossed and turned the remainder of the night. He wished he could just take the nightmares away.

Pulling the buzzing cell phone out of his pocket, he saw Diggle's face displayed on the screen. Accepting the call, he exited the room that way he wouldn't wake Felicity.

"Hey," Oliver answered in a hushed tone. He shut the door until it was only slightly cracked.

"Is she okay?" Oliver could hear the worry coating Diggle's voice.

"She's not herself, Dig. She has bruises, burns, and scars all over her. The son of a bitch even carved the word snitch across her stomach," Oliver growled.

"Has she said anything?"

"No. John, she hasn't even cracked a joke or rambled like she normally does. I've never seen her like this."

"We will find the men who did this to her," Diggle promised.

"They are going to wish they never laid eyes on her. Are you planning on dropping by later? Maybe seeing you will help her open up."

"Of course. I'll be there in a few hours," Diggle promised. "See you later man."

"Bye Dig," Oliver said hanging up the phone. Placing the device back in his pocket, he headed back into the room.

The clock on the nightstand read 7:37 am. Just four hours ago he wasting himself away to a bottle of vodka. Drowning his sorrows in a bottle helped him take his mind off of her. He had started to give up hope that they were going to find her.

As soon as he realized she was missing, he immediately began looking for her. He had searched her home countless times, but he was unable to find any evidence that someone had broken in. Her captors didn't leave any kind of ransom note. It was as if Felicity had just vanished in thin air.

For weeks he spent night after night interrogating every kind of low-life criminal he could find. He would put the fear of God into them and they would talk, but it wasn't the answers he was looking for. He hit a dead end every single time. No one knew who she was or who had taken her.

Diggle had set up facial recognition algorithms in the computers to search for her face across the world. Nothing ever appeared. They were clueless on how to find her. If Felicity had been there, she would have thought of something.

Oliver slid the cell phone back into his pocket. Quietly, he slipped back into the room. His gaze instantly fell onto her sleeping body. Felicity had shifted positions in her sleep causing the covers to slide down to her stomach. Oliver walked over to the bed and gazed down at her sleeping body. Her eyebrows were scrunched together as her head shifted to each side slightly. She looked so uncomfortable. He wanted to comfort her, but his touch only made her cringe away.

Carefully lifting up the covers on her stomach, he raised them back over her chest and shoulders. Her eyebrows relaxed as a slightly peaceful look spread across her face. Maybe her nightmare was finally over.

A faint rusty smell enter his nostrils. Looking down at his arms, he noticed a few patches of blood and grime on his skin. Taking a quick glance at Felicity, he decided that he could take a quick shower before she woke up.

Making his way to the bathroom connected with the bedroom, he snatched a towel off the rack. He placed the towel on the sink by the shower and started the water. He let the water heat up for a minute before stripping out of his clothing. He entered the steamy shower as the scalding hot water met his skin. His sleepy, groggy state faded as the water acted like caffeine to his senses.

As he opened the lid to the liquid shower gel, flashes of Felicity's beaten body tied to a chair played in his mind. He had never seen her broken like this. Even when Count Vertigo took her hostage she was able to bounce back quickly. It hurt him to see her like this.

The smell of sandalwood filled the shower as Oliver began spreading the gel across his skin. The blood and grime lifted off his skin and was washed down the drain with the water. He almost had all the soap rinsed from his body when he heard his name be called out from the bedroom.

"Felicity," he thought as he quickly washed the remainder of the soap off his body. He quickly turned the knob to the left, stopping the water flow from the shower head. He snatched the towel off the sink. Wrapping it around his waist, he heard her voice cry his name out again. She sounded scared.

He grabbed the doorknob, swinging the door open. Felicity was sitting up in the bed looking around the room. Her attention snapped to him as a look of relief washed over her face. Oliver scanned the room to make sure there was nobody else here. Finding no one, he focused on her.

"Felicity, are you alright?" He asked as he walked towards her bedside. He felt droplets of water run down his bare chest as he walked. Her eyes trailed over his chest momentarily before returning back to his face.

"I thought they took you," she muttered worriedly. He sat down on the side of the bed as a concerned look spread across his face.

"Felicity, you know how I spend my nights. I can handle myself," Oliver reassured.

"But what if you can't? If they took you it would be all my fault," she cried.

"Felicity, how in the world would it be your fault?" Oliver asked confused. Felicity froze for a second. A look of panic and guilt spread across her face.

"You can tell me Felicity," Oliver encouraged. Letting out a long, shaky breath she looked him in the eyes.

"They wanted to know who the Arrow was," she whispered. A few tears welled up in her eyes as she recollected the past month. "I didn't tell them. For a whole damn month I didn't tell them who you were. No matter how often they cut me, spit on me, burned me, and so on. They saw that they weren't going to break me, so they decided they were going to involve my mother unless I cooperated. Oliver, I couldn't get her involved."

"Felicity," Oliver whispered sympathetically, " you shouldn't have done all that for me. My identity is not worth that. Your life means more to me then a couple of goons figuring out who the Arrow is."

"You or Diggle wouldn't give up. I wasn't going to either," she replied.

Oliver sat there for a moment just taking in the weight of everything she had told him. She was willing to give her life to protect him. He wasn't worth all that trouble.

"Felicity," he whispered at a loss for words.

She reached her hand out from under the covers and gently rested it on top of Oliver's. " I know," she nodded through tears. She was starting to open up to him.


	4. Trust

She had opened up to him. A wave of temporary relief flooded over her as she sat there with her hand resting on his. The guilt of betraying his trust seemed to fade as his forgiving look lay etched in her memory. He wasn't angry or upset like she thought he would be. Instead, he was understanding and forgiving.

A surprised look formed on his face as he realized that she initiated contact with him. He had been trying constantly over the past few hours to comfort her to no avail. Now she was the one who reached out to him.

"Are you hungry?" He inquired still dressed in nothing but a loose towel. His damp chest glistened from the sunlight peering in through the blinds.

She answered him with a nod, knowing that the last time she ate was days ago. The food she was served while held hostage was inedible. Nasty slop that made school lunches look desirable were given to her every few days to make sure she had enough energy to survive interrogations. They needed her awake to get the answers they were looking for.

"Can you walk?" Oliver asked giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I believe so," she responded peeling the warm covers off of her body. A slight chill ran down her spine as the cooler air met her skin. Her hair was still slightly damp from her bath last night. Cautiously, she set her feet on the ground and slowly began bearing her body weight on them. She was definitely tender. Pain washed over her body, but it was nothing compared to everything that she had gone through.

Lifting her body off the bed, she felt the blood rush to her head. The world began spinning around her as she felt herself lose her balance. She felt steady hands catch her and ease her back down to the bed. Spots danced across her vision as her head pounded like a New York City construction site.

"Felicity? Felicity?" Oliver's asked highly concerned. Her spinning world slowed down after a second.

"I'm okay. I just haven't stood up in a while," she replied brushing the matter off like it was nothing.

"Let me just carry you then," Oliver suggested not wanting to push her past what she could handle.

"No, I can do it," she insisted. She didn't want him to do everything for her. Especially after what she had done to him. His eyes looked at her with concern, making the guilt that had faded away creep back up inside.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I said I could do it!" She snapped causing him to back off a little.

"Sorry, try again whenever you are ready," he whispered sounding slightly hurt.

"Oliver, I'm sorry," she mumbled with her voice cracking. "How can you just forgive me for giving away your secret? I betrayed your trust and you act like nothing happened!"

"Felicity, I know what you are feeling right now. How often do you tell me to stop feeling guilty for things that are out of my control? You were in an impossible situation. Regardless of who you chose, you were going to hurt someone close to you. Your mother did not need to be involved. I, however, can handle a few low- lifes finding out my identity."

He slowly reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek. She pulled back at first but stopped fighting the comfort of his touch. For so long, touch had been something she had feared. She forgot that it could be a good thing as well.

Letting all the held back tears break down the wall she had built up inside, she cried. Oliver wrapped her in a hug and she cried into his shoulder. His hand gently rubbed her back as she let it all out. It felt good to let it all go.

His embrace felt so warm and inviting. Unlike her captor's embrace which was unpleasant. She remembered what one of her captors had done on the third night she was there.

 _"How ya feelin slut?" The brown-haired man asked as he sauntered smugly into the room._

 _"Like a million bucks," she answered sarcastically. Her busted lip began bleeding slightly as she talked._

 _"Speaking of green things, why don't you tell us where your green friend is and this can all be over," he said transitioning to the reason he was here._

 _"Not in a million years," she scoffed._

 _"You seem to misunderstand me. I'm not asking for you to tell me who the Green Arrow is," He said getting very close to her face. He pulled out a pocket knife and grazed the blade across her face, drawing blood. "You ARE going to tell me who he is, or you are going to wish you had never been born."_

 _"You don't scare me," She growled, standing her ground._

 _"Is that so?" The man snarled running the blade down the exposed skin on her chest. His blade hovered over her red, lacey bra as he raised his eyebrows. He bit his lip and let out a sigh as he pulled his knife away._

 _"There are so many things I want to do to you right now," he breathed into her ear. His thick breath against her skin made her cringe. A wave of panic swept over her as her imagination thought of the obscenities he could do to her. She wished that Oliver was here to save her. He was coming. She was sure he was going to come._

 _His lips pressed against the side of her neck. Her body tensed up as her hands gripped the armrests of the metal chair tightly. His kisses trailed to her cheek, and then to her chapped lips. One of his hands gripped her hair tightly causing a groan of pain to escape her lips. The man took that as a groan of pleasure and deepened the kiss. Not being able to take his filthy mouth any longer, Felicity clenched her teeth down on his lip and bit down hard._

 _A cry of pain emitted from his mouth as he quickly pulled back. Felicity's teeth stayed locked onto his lip as she tasted blood. A hard object hit the back of her head causing her to release his bottom lip. Her vision became blurry for a second as a ringing noise sounded in her ears._

 _"YOU BITCH," a muffled voice shouted. Something sharp ran across her chest causing a white-hot pain to burn across her nervous system. Soon after she felt something warm and wet seep down her skin._

 _"Are you okay man?" The other man asked. She watched as their blurry images interacted with one another._

 _"I should have known. She's the Arrow's whore!"_

 _The voices faded away after a few minutes, but the pain lingered. The ringing in her ear faded away. She heard loud shouting and cussing coming from the room next door._

"Whenever you are ready to talk about it Felicity, I'll be right here," Oliver said breaking her out of her memory.

"Thank you, Oliver," she said drying the tears from her eyes. She broke away from his embrace. Looking into his eyes, she felt her heart beat a little bit faster.

How could someone who had been through so much be this compassionate? She was finding it hard to trust again and she had only gone through a fraction of what he had been through.

Oliver had invited her out to coffee the day she had been taken. They were supposed to go the next morning for breakfast and coffee. Oliver had wanted to talk to her regarding the whole Slade love declaration situation. After two weeks of awkward glances and conversations, Oliver finally thought it was time to talk about it. They never got the chance to talk since she was taken.

"Come on, I'll help you walk," Oliver said lifting himself off the bed. He extended his hand towards her and helped her up.

"Thank you, for everything," she said as she steadied herself on him.

"Don't mention it."


	5. The Letter

Felicity entered the kitchen with the support of Oliver's arm keeping her balanced. Glancing around the room, she noticed a bottle of vodka on the countertop. The bottle looked like it was almost empty. Something shiny caught her attention on the floor. Broken glass lay scattered on the floor, trailing behind the kitchen island.

Oliver noticed what Felicity was staring at and let out a quiet curse under his breath. He had forgotten to clean up his mess from his drunken stupor last night. He followed her gaze to the overflowing trash can. Last night's mess wasn't the only thing he had forgotten to clean up. Bottles of various alcohols lay piled on top of one another in the overflowing trash can.

"Here," he said helping her to one of the barstools at the island, "I'm going to clean up quick." Oliver quickly left the room, returning moments later with a trash bag and a broom with a dustpan.

He began sweeping the shards of glass up in the dustpan. Once he gathered up all the remnants of his glass from last night, he dumped the dustpan into the garbage bag. Snatching the bottle of Vodka off the countertop, he tossed it into the bag as well. Walking over to the full garbage can, he took a few bottles off the top and transferred them to the almost empty bag. Tying off both bags of garbage, he left the room once more.

"Sorry about that," he said as he entered the room with a new garbage bag for the can. He placed the plastic bag into its rightful place before returning his attention back to her.

"Oliver," she uttered in shock at what she had seen. She had never stopped to think that she wasn't the only one going a rough time for the past month.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," he admitted, looking down at the empty countertop. A saddened look formed on his face as the painful memories of Felicity's disappearance flashed through his head. Countless nights of searching only to hit dead ends each time. It was hard losing someone you had become close too; someone you had feelings for that shouldn't be acted upon.

"Neither did I," she whispered reflecting on the countless times she had been interrogated. After a week had passed with no appearance from the Arrow, she started to lose the faith of ever seeing her loved ones again. She was still trying to figure out why they let her go. She had seen what they looked like. Most criminals would have killed her after getting the information they wanted, so why did they gift-wrap her and place her on the Arrow's doorstep.

"I missed you, Felicity." His husky voice pulled at her heartstrings. She wished that the last month could be wiped from existence. She wanted to go back to fighting the bad guys with the team. Back to being her quirky self, optimistic self.

She just wanted to go back in time to the night of her kidnapping. There are so many things that she would change to prevent this awful month from ever occurring. A Tardis would really come in handy right now.

"What can I get you to eat?" Oliver offered, trying to shift the focus off the past and onto the present.

"Do you have cereal?" She answered. Anything would be better than the slop they gave her there.

"Let me check," he replied. He turned around and began digging through the many cabinets. Finding something, he pulled out a box of store brand Cheerios. "Will this work?"

"Yeah," she nodded, ready to eat some real food. He poured her a bowl out of the bag until it was about three-quarters of the way full.

"Is that enough?" He hovered the bag over the bowl. She gave him an appreciative nod. He withdrew the bag from over the bowl, placing it back into the cardboard cereal box. "Okay, let me check the milk quick."

He put the box back into the cabinet. Moving towards the fridge, he reached for the handle and opened the door. The light came on inside the machine, showcasing all of the items inside. Finding the milk, he pulled it out of the fridge. He doubled checked the date making sure it was okay to use for her breakfast. Finding it in date, he went ahead and poured some into her bowl.

"Thank you," she said appreciatively.

"Anytime," Oliver replied, putting the milk back in the fridge.

The doorbell rang causing the two of them to snap their heads in the direction of the door. Oliver knew already who it was. Diggle had promised to stop by when he spoke with him on the phone earlier.

Walking over to the door, Oliver glanced through the peephole. He saw Diggle on the other side confirming his suspicion. He unlocked the door and invited Diggle in. Diggle walked in carrying an white envelope.

"What's that?" Oliver asked Diggle.

"It was laying on your doorstep. Here," Diggle said handing the small package to Oliver.

"Felicity!" Diggle exclaimed walking over to her. He stretched his arms out into a hug, letting her come to him. Diggle knew that she may not want physical contact, so he left the option up to her.

"I missed you," Felicity whispered, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"It's so good to see you," he responded, pulling her closer to him.

While the two of them talked, Oliver carefully opened the unmarked package. It didn't have a shipping label on it. Could this have been out there with Felicity last night? Did they come back during the night and place it on his doorstep?

Successfully opening the package, Oliver pulled out a piece of paper and a tape recorder that had a tape already placed in it.

 _Dear Oliver Queen,_

 _We are writing to inform you that we have brought your secret into the light thanks to the help of your assistant, Felicity Smoak. Now that we know who you are, we have a few demands from you._

 _1\. We would like a transfer of one million dollars transferred to the bank account we have told Ms. Smoak about by noon on Monday._

 _2\. We would also like to see you give up your vigilante role as the Arrow._

 _Failure to meet any of the demands listed above will result in severe penalties. For instance, on that tape is a confession of Ms. Smoak declaring that you are the arrow. We have several copies of this tape waiting to be spread like wildfire. Also, we still know where Ms. Smoak's mother resides. And how could I forget that I also know where the two of you are. If you fail to meet these demands Oliver Queen, then I would suggest you sleep with one eye open._

 _Thanks for everything,_

 _The thugs who know your secret._


	6. Forty-Eight Hours

Felicity watched as Oliver's blue eyes darted back and forth over the letter. His eyebrows furrowed as his lips parted mumbling the words on the page. His grip on the piece of paper tightened causing the paper to wrinkle. He looked up at the two of them with a disgusted look on his face.

"Oliver?" Felicity asked feeling a wave of worry pool in her stomach. Whatever was on the paper was nothing good. Oliver shook his head back and forth confirming her fears.

"What is it?" Diggle asked. He moved away from Felicity's side for a second and walked over to Oliver.

"They're threatening me," Oliver responded. Diggle took the note from Oliver's hands and skimmed over it quickly. A look of surprise spread across his face as he read over it.

"A million dollars? Who are these guys?" Diggle dropped the note to his side. Felicity's eyes followed the paper down. She knew what was on that paper now. Blackmail. The scumbags were probably planning to out Oliver as the Arrow unless he gave them money.

"I don't know, but they sure as hell aren't getting a single dime from me." Oliver crossed his arms and shook his head. Diggle returned to Felicity's side with the letter still in his hand.

"What else did they want?" Felicity's worried voice chimed in. Oliver noticed her hands were shaking slightly. If she knew her captors like she thought she did, there was more than one request.

"They want me to give up being the Arrow. That's not going to happen though. We're going to catch these bastards first."

These guys were not going to be easy to catch. They had taken her for a whole entire month without Oliver or Diggle even getting remotely close to finding where she was. These guys knew how to fly under the radar.

"What happens if we don't catch them? What did they threaten to do?" She asked knowing that there would be more consequences than outing Oliver. These guys liked violence.

"That doesn't matter. We'll catch them before they do any more harm," Oliver comforted her. He didn't want her to hear their threats. He wouldn't let any of them be followed through. Felicity had been through so much. She didn't need something else to fuel her nightmares.

She didn't seem pleased with Oliver's answer. Without any warning, she quickly leaned out of her chair and snatched the letter out of Diggle's hand.

"Hey-" Diggle exclaimed in surprise.

"Felicity!" Oliver exclaimed. She ignored them and scanned the letter. After a second, her grip loosened on the letter letting it float down to the ground. She scrunched her eyebrows in anger as the words sank in.

"My mother... the whole reason I told them about you was to leave her out of this. THOSE LYING BASTARDS!" She screamed angrily as a tear fell down her cheek. Her hands balled into fists as feelings of anger and fear consumed her. Oliver quickly made it to her and bent down to where he was no longer taller than her. His hands gently wrapped around her balled fists.

"Felicity. Felicity, hey look at me," Oliver whispered, looking up into her blue eyes.

"Diggle and I will stop them, okay?" He reached up and wiped a tear away from her face. Felicity looked over at Diggle. He gave her a reassuring nod.

"Okay," she whispered letting out a deep breath. She trusted in Oliver's judgment. It had proven to be right with the whole Slade situation.

"Where is your mother? I can have Roy go and keep an eye on her," Oliver suggested.

"Somewhere in Vegas. I can get you an address later," she replied.

"Okay. Felicity, can you tell us anything about these men? Where they took you? What they looked like?" Oliver questioned. "Remeber anything can help."

Felicity closed her eyes for a second. She didn't want to remember them, but if it would help put them away, then she would endure the painful memories.

"Take your time. This is hard and I know it hurts," Oliver said in a hushed tone.

"They were smart. They didn't use real names around me. Instead, they used names from The Scarlett Letter. Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are what they called each other. "

"We should write this down. Dig, there are pens and paper in the top drawer to the left of the stove. Diggle quickly hurried to the drawer Oliver had mentioned. He pulled out a notepad and a blue ink pen. He quickly scribbled down what Felicity had said before she continued.

"Chillingworth was the burly one. He had long brown hair that he liked to keep up in a bun. He had a beard. He had a dog tag tattoo on the inside of his arm. I think it had the name Lisa on the tag. "

Diggle was scribbling away as she moved on to the other man. "Dimmesdale was leaner. He too had brown hair, but his was shorter. I didn't see any tattoos on him, but he did have a scar on his forearm that looked like it was from a gunshot wound."

Dimmesdale had been the one who had tried forcing himself upon her. He learned his lesson after she took a chunk out of his lip.

"Sounds to me like they were in a branch of the military. Maybe Lisa was a fallen comrade?" Diggle said putting down the pen.

"That's a good lead, Dig," Oliver agreed. "Felicity, do you remember anything about where they took you?"

"Not really. I was pretty much tied to a chair in a dark room for the entire time. They came in to feed me and interrogate me often but I honestly had no idea where I was. I don't even remember them taking me in there. They drugged me heavily whenever the moved me. All I know is that I was in my apartment and then I was in a chair. That I was tied to a chair and then I was in front of your house. "

"We should get a sample of your blood. See if there is any trace of the drug left in your system. If we figure out what drug they used, we can calculate its effects and wear off time. We may be able to get a radius of how far they took you. Also, we can figure out what kind of access they have. Heavier drugs normally require higher access in the workforce. We can search the news and see if there has been any recent break-in at medical facilities or if there is any inventory missing."

"Okay," Felicity agreed. She was terrified of what was going to happen but trusted that Oliver knew what he was doing. They've been in bad situations before. The team always pulled through.

"Sounds like a plan. While you two work on that, I'll see if Lyla can have A.R.G.U.S. run some of these descriptions through their database."

"Call me if you get anything," Oliver encouraged.

"Likewise," Diggle replied with a nod. He gave Felicity a pat on the shoulder before leaving.

"Did you want to eat before we go?" Oliver asked noticing that she never touched her cereal.

"I'm not hungry anymore," she responded. She was too worried to eat. They had just forty-eight hours to catch these scumbags before they retaliated.


	7. Revelations

"This is only going to hurt a little bit," Oliver said as he used an alcohol wipe to disinfect Felicity's skin. The wipe was cold against her skin. Her eyes flicked over to the syringe sitting on the table beside them.

They had arrived at The Foundry to run an analysis on Felicity's blood. She was also going to get Oliver an exact address on her mother while they were here. While she wasn't exactly close to her mother, she never wanted her to be hurt.

"I've grown used to pain." She extended her arm fully out so that Oliver could see the vein. Oliver grabbed the syringe off the table and took the cap off of the needle. Gently, his hand steadied her arm.

"That's something I hoped I would never hear you say." He sounded disappointed in himself.

"This isn't your fault you know," She replied, sucking in a breath as the sharp needle entered her skin. She watched as her blood filled the once empty syringe.

"I know, I just wish I could have been there to protect you. I wish we could have found you," he replied. He placed a cotton ball on her skin as he drew back the needle. He placed the cap back on the needle. He removed the needle from the syringe and transferred her blood in a tube.

"They had me hidden well. I don't even know if I could have found me," she admitted. She didn't want him to feel guilty. She knew he had searched day and night for her. She knew him. He would never give up on her.

Oliver started the blood analysis. Once he got the machine going, he turned his attention back to her. He grabbed a band-aid out of a drawer. He removed the wrapper and carefully placed it on her skin.

"I hit dead end after dead end trying to find you. It was like you just vanished into thin air."

"The first week I was there, I was hopeful. Every time the door opened, I thought it was you coming to save me. It was something horrible instead. Sometimes it was unedible garbage that they called food. Sometimes it was time to interrogate me. One time it was..." she trailed off.

"Don't push yourself," he comforted. His hand had snaked his way into hers.

"Dimmesdale came onto me," she breathed, needing to get it out. She didn't know how Oliver kept all his secrets and demons hidden. This was eating her away and it had only been a month.

"He tried to force himself on me as Chillingsworth watched. He didn't get far, though. I bit that asshole's lip as hard as I could. He didn't try anything after that. He was probably scared I would bite something a little more valuable then his bottom lip if he tried anything else."

"Felicity," he whispered at a loss for words.

"Thank you for working with me. Not many people would have taken care of me the way you did last night. You didn't push me. You kept your distance but were there when I really needed you," she said appreciatively.

"Wounds take time to heal. Rushing them won't make them heal any faster." She looked over at him. His eyes were full of compassion.

A beeping noise echoed off the walls of The Foundry.

"That's the blood results," Oliver announced, standing up. He walked over to the machine and looked at the printout.

"You have traces of ketamine in your system," he reported bringing the paper over to show her.

"Ketamine, don't they use that as an anesthetic in veterinary clinics?" Felicity asked taking the paper from him.

"I believe so. Have any clinics locally been broken into recently?" Oliver questioned.

Felicity turned to her computer and began typing away.

"Look," she said finding something of interest.

"This clinic in the glades was robbed three days before I was taken."

"Any surveillance cameras?" Oliver asked intrigued.

"Give me a second," Felicity said as her fingers flew across the keyboard. "Here."

She pulled up the video and hit the play button. Two figures moved into view of the camera. They had on masks, and Felicity identified one of the masks as the devil mask that haunted her nightmares.

"That's them," she confirmed

"What's the name of that clinic?"

"Starling Pet Clinic," she informed.

"Good work. Let me call John." He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Diggle.

He answered after the second ring.

"I was getting ready to call you," Diggle answered.

"What did you find out?" Oliver asked curiously.

"A.R.G.U.S. Was able to help me identify our perps."

"Really? That's amazing!" Oliver exclaimed feeling like all the pieces were falling into place.

"Robert Everton and Joseph Rinehard. Both served in the army. Rinehard's sister, Lisa, served in the army with them as well. Everton was in love with Lisa. After serving their time in the army, the three of them returned to Starling. Robert and Lisa got married, but Lisa was killed in the undertaking last year."

"That would explain the hatred towards the Arrow. A lot of people in the Glades blame me for the Undertaking and not Malcom."

"What did you find?" Diggle asked.

"Felicity was drugged with Ketamine. Ketamine is often used in animal clinics as an anesthetic. Starling Pet Clinic was robbed three days prior to Felicity's kidnapping. After reviewing the security camera footage, Felicity was able to identify the robbers as her captors."

"I'll go scope the place out. See if I can find out some more info," Diggle said .

"Sounds good. Keep me updated!" Oliver said hanging up the phone.

"Diggle's going to the Clinic to get more information."

"Good, while you were on the phone, I found out my mother's exact address. Here," she said handing him the written down address.

"Thanks I'll get Roy on it."

"I appreciate everything you guys are doing," she said looking up at him.

"Anything for you." He said flashing her a smile.


	8. Hope

_"Robert, they're onto us," a gruff voice boomed entering the room. A chuckle escaped from Robert's lips as he shook his head._

 _"As they are supposed to be. You didn't really think they were just going to hand over the money, did you?" His eyebrow raised as he looked at his partners quizzical expression._

 _Robert scoffed and redirected his attention to the screen in front of his. He was watching the two ' heroes' comfort each other in their sorry excuse for a base of operations._

 _"Then why did you have me write that letter?" A look of confusion spread across the burly mans face as he still tried to figure out his partners plan._

 _Ever since Lisa, Robert had not fully been his regular self. She was his soulmate, and she was ripped from him with out so much of a warning._

 _"To waste their time with false hope of a happy ending. Exposing the Arrow and bringing him to justice is our number one priority. We will take down his following one way or another. Then, we will take him down when he has nothing left. Well start with that blonde. She's stronger than I thought."_

 _"Why did you want to let her go? Why not just kill her while you had her?" Joseph questioned. He trusted Robert's judgment, but was still confused why he had let that Felicity woman go._

 _"Because, I want each and every member of 'Team Arrow' to know how it feels to lose everything they hold dear. Then we can deliver our own justice." His fist clenched as he watched the two hug on screen._

 _"They will pay, Lisa," he whispered as he slammed the laptop shut._

 _"Does that mean what I think it means?"_

 _Robert nodded as a menacing grin snaked onto his lips._

 _"Donna Smoak is taking a vacation to Starling City and she won't be leaving ._ "

...

"Has Diggle found anything yet?" Felicity asked as she looked up from her computer screen. A yawn left her lips as she gently stretched her arms. She had been searching for a location on her two kidnappers for a couple hours now.

Oliver had suggested she take a break for a little while. He didn't want her to over exert herself on her first day back. She was determined not to rest until the men who did this to her were locked up for good.

"Nothing yet. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Oliver responded as he finished sharpening his arrows.

"And by soon you mean now," Diggle announced, walking down the stairway.

"And I thought I was the only one allowed to make dramatic entrances," Oliver mumbled shaking his head. "What did you find?"

"Well our perps stoke enough Ketamine to last them a few months. They also took an entire bottle of euthanasia solution." Diggle reached the bottom of the stairwell.

"That stuff is lethal if given intravenously. What are they using that for?" Felicity asked confused.

"I don't know, but I really don't like what ever these two have planned. We need to get them behind bars as soon as we can."

"Agreed, but does anyone have any idea on how to find them. I know we tried to find Felicity for a whole month to more avail, Oliver. These guys are hard to track down." Diggle's arms crossed as he asked his question.

"I've got facial recognition running now. It can take hours, even days to get a hit though," Felicity said worried. They only had so much time to catch these guys. Days was not something they had.

"Hey," Oliver said placing his hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him with a fearful look in her eyes. His soft eyes returned her gaze with a look of comfort and reassurance

"We will stop these guys before they can hurt anyone else. I promise." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Her hand reached up and slid on top of his.

"Since when are you the optimistic one?" She asked giving him a faint smile. Normally she was the voice of optimism and he was the exact opposite.

"I learned from the best." He flashed her a smile causing a warm feeling to wash over her.

Diggle smiled as he watched the two of them. As traumatic as this event had been, maybe it would be the one thing to finally bring the two of them together. Maybe this was the push the two needed.

"I'm going to call Lyla and see if there is any thing else they can do to help us," Diggle decided pulling out his phone.

"Sounds good,Dig," Oliver agreed. "I'm going to gear up and take to the streets. See if I can't find any leads that way. I've heard I can be very persuasive."

"I'll stay here with Felicity," Diggle nodded. "I'm sure you don't want to be left alone, and there's no way in hell I would leave you alone after everything you've been through."

"Thank you," Felicity replied thankfully.

"Yes, thank you, John," Appreciation coated his voice.

"It's what I'm here for."

...

A loud beeping noise caused Felicity to jolt awake. Her face flew off the keyboard, leaving indentations of the computer keys on her face and arm.

"I'm up!" She shouted as she pushed her fallen glasses back on her face. A look of realization hit her as she noticed she was still in The Foundry. Diggle and Oliver were talking in a corner, but turned their heads as soon as they heard Felicity's voice.

"What time is it?" She questioned groggily as she lifted her glasses up and rubbed her eyes. Purple dots danced across her vision as she blinked them away.

"Like 8:30 in the morning," Oliver answered as he walked over to Felicity.

"You guys let me sleep?" She asked sounding slightly upset. She hadn't wanted to sleep, she wanted to catch those responsible. The beeping from the computer continued as a notification flashed on the screen.

"Yeah, you were exhausted," Oliver replied leaning down to look at the computer screen.

 **Facial recognition match**

 **Joseph Rinehard**

 **85% match**

"We got them!" Felicity exclaimed noticing the screen. A wave of hope washed over her. They did it. They found them.;

"Let's go catch these bastards."


End file.
